“Star Wars: Episode VII” has added two powerful actresses to its ensemble.

Lupita Nyong’o, who earned a best supporting actress Academy Award earlier this year for her heart-wrenching turn in “12 Years a Slave,” is joining the film’s cast, as is Gwendoline Christie, best known as the towering fighter known as Brienne of Tarth on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

The highly anticipated effort from director J.J. Abrams, which started production last month, already boasts a number of buzz-worthy actors including Adam Driver, best known for his role in HBO’s “Girls,” and Oscar Isaac, who won considerable acclaim for his turn in the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis,” as well as John Boyega, known for his work in the film “Attack the Block,” and newcomer Daisy Ridley.

Abrams has taken to social media as a means of communicating directly with fans — to commemorate “Star Wars” day in May, Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who have written the “Episode VII” screenplay together, posted a brief greeting from London that they dubbed a “video selfie.”

Kasdan, of course, has a long history with Lucasfilm, as a screenwriter on “Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi.”

“Star Wars: Episode VII” is scheduled to open in theaters on Dec. 18, 2015.

Comments

Well I for one have been waiting in anticipation for the start of filming on this new batch of Star Wars movies. I just hope that they do it justice and do not ruin the excellent saga created by George Lucas.